ATLANTA – Justin Turner has officially been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left intercostal strain, Mets manager Terry Collins said today.

The utilityman had been playing through the injury for a few days, but the discomfort was enough to keep him in New York Sunday night for an examination Monday morning. An MRI revealed the extent of the injury.

Turner is hitting .266/.307/.330 in 102 plate appearances this season. He's made 16 starts at five positions, including designated hitter.

Without Turner, the Mets are down to two backup infielders, Jordany Valdespin and Josh Satin. Neither, however, are bona fide shortstops.

Collins said the team will evaluate its dearth of infielders over the next few days, but indicated no additions would be made until after the team visits the White Sox next week. Having the designated hitter in Chicago, Collins reasoned, bought the Mets some more time.

Collins believes Turner will not need more than the 15 days, though he admitted intercostal injuries are unpredictable.

With Turner’s removal from the active roster and the one-day implementation of a 26-man roster for today’s doubleheader, the Mets activated reliever Scott Atchison from the disabled list and officially promoted Zack Wheeler, today’s nightcap starter, from Triple-A Las Vegas.

Atchison was placed on the 15-day disabled list May 14 with elbow inflammation resulting from a bone spur that caused tingling in his fingers. The right-hander sought a second opinion from Dr. James Andrews, who suggested Atchison take a week off before pitching again.

Athchison did, but suffered another setback three weeks ago. He was idle for another week and hasn’t felt the any tingling over the last two weeks.